KAMPALA – After a successful Southwestern Region Spotlight, Gudie Leisure Farm (GLF), a social enterprise providing various agribusiness development services to especially youth-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the agricultural sector has now announced the same in Elgon region.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Professor. Gudula Naiga Basaza, Founder and Managing Director, GLF said that the region not only offers great pieces of wisdom but it is also a strategic business hub embellished with assets that if fully understood and maximally exploited can advance Uganda towards its vision much faster.
During the Elgon Region Spotlight from the 11th to the 12th of June, Gudie Leisure Farm will be exposing the nation, and in particular its MSMEs, to not only the development opportunities that the region offers but also the strategies required to profitably and competitively harness them.
The engagement will also involve an exciting exhibition of their rich cultural heritage through their fashion, music, dance, drama and the delicious food that they are popular for. Additionally, a tour through some of the most outstanding tourist sites in the region will also be made.
Professor. Gudula noted that the spotlight’s main goal of this initiative is to facilitate sustainable development in the Elgon Region by promoting sustainable investment in its advancement by the private sector, especially in the districs of Bududa, Buko, Bulambuli, Butaleja, Kapchorwa, Kweni, Manafwa, Mbale, Namisindwa, Sironko and Tororo.
The spotlight will also raise the profile of the region, and in particular, the young generation of entrepreneurs that it is raising, in order to unlock its development potential, enlighten the business community in Uganda about the investment opportunities in the Elgon Region and the strategies they required to sustainably exploit them and establish a platform through which the business community and the communities in the Elgon Region can collaborate to promote sustainable development.
It is also aimed at stimulating opportunities to share fun and food with family and friends in a reflective and rejuvenating environment while building strong and lasting relationships with people with a very cultural background.
“As Gudie Leisure Farm we’ve been working in this region for the last 13 years. We’ve worked with youth in the region, and they’ve shown us the potential of that region. Starting on the 11th of June, we have a cultural immersion. This will be an opportunity for us to understand the culture and to experience and be part of the culture of the region.”
Other activities include;
1. The Elgon Region Business Symposium: “During this engagement, which will take place on Monday, 12th of June, 2023, extensive discussions about the business development opportunities the region offers will be held with various public and private actors, highlighting, as well, the strategies that the individuals and institutions interested in exploiting them can employ in order to successfully do so,” said prof.
The topics to be discussed here are;
The Elgon Region and Its Evolution Over the Years: Through this session, the business community will be exposed to the history and evolution of the region and its different communities and how different political, economic and environmental dynamics at both local and international levels have influenced its advancement.
The Investment Opportunities in the Elgon Region: This session will highlight the investment opportunities in the region that the business community can exploit as well as the strategies they can employ in order to successfully do so.
“Discussions will also address the incentives that have been put in place by the government to support the development initiatives of the business community in the region and the different ways in which they can be accessed,” she noted.
The Political Environment in the Elgon Region: The business community will be able to learn, through this exciting session, about the nature of the political environment in the Elgon Region from the of an investor, the different ways in which the opportunities it offers can be harnessed for the growth and success of their businesses and the strategies they should employ in order to mitigate against the existing and emerging risks.
The Economic Environment in Elgon Region: This session will focus on enlightening the business community about the dynamics in the economic environment of the region and how it can exploit the opportunities it offers for sustainable growth and success despite the existing and emerging threats.
The Social Environment in Elgon Region: Here, the business community will learn about the effects of the social structures, systems and processes of the communities in the region on the growth and success of an enterprise operating there and how it can utilize their strengths to build a strong and successful one.
Prof Gudula added, “In addition, the business community will get to learn about the challenges that the social structures, systems and processes present and the strategies it can employ in order to successfully overcome them.”
Starting and Building a Successful Enterprise in the Elgon Region: This session, she said will address the steps that individuals and institutions interested in investing in the Elgon Region can take in order to do so successfully and how they can deal with concerns such as the registration and licensing of their businesses there.
Experiences of Investors in Elgon Region: Here, the business community will hear from the different MSMEs that have invested in the region about what it takes to start and build a successful enterprise in the Elgon Region and the different ways in which they have overcome the challenges there.
The GLF Youth Cottage Industry Investment Opportunities: “Gudie Leisure Farm has invested over the past five years in building the capacity of the young people in the Elgon Region to start and build their own enterprises. So during this exciting session, the young people it works with will share their entrepreneurial experiences with the business community including the insights they have obtained about how to build a successful enterprise in the region as a young person. They will also inform them about the business opportunities that they can engage in in partnership them and the steps they can take in order to do so.”
2. Dine with the Elgon Region: At the close of the business symposium, there will be a dinner for its participants involving beautiful music, dance and drama describing the culture of the different communities in the region and the amazing contribution that they have made to the growth and prosperity of their nation, Uganda, through the years.
3. The Elgon Region Cultural Immersion: Happening on Sunday, the 11th of June, Prof. Gudula noted that participants will be given an opportunity to learn more about the customs of the different communities in the region by interacting directly with not only their people but also the exciting stories that are told by the way in which they sing and dance and the approaches they employ in the preparation of the foods that they are popular for.
4. The Elgon Region Expedition: From the 20th to 23rd June, the tourists will be able to see for themselves and learn firsthand about the investment opportunities offered by the region and its communities.
“The engagement will also give an opportunity to its communities, especially the young entrepreneurs there, to promote their businesses and establish positive business collaborations with the individuals who will be visiting them. Furthermore, a visit to some of the most exciting tourist sites in the region will also be made.”
